Cal State Northridge Travels To UCSB In Big West Conference Game

Northridge Notes
A five-man substitution system that was instituted four games ago has worked wonders for the Cal State Northridge basketball team ... Head coach Bobby Braswell says five new players are brought into the game when the team on the court allows five points or gives up an offensive rebound ... The result means all the players on the roster have an opportunity to contribute ... The result has been a 3-1 record ... During that time, CSUN has allowed the opponents a .352 shooting percentage, .234 from behind the arc and only allowed 66.8 ppg ... Meawhile, CSUN's offense has averaged 75.8 ppg while shooting .524 from the floor, and .443 from three-point territory ... The new system will again be employed when CSUN travels to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, January 29, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at The Thunderdome ... UCSB is #1 in the Big West Conference in field goal percentage (.460) while Cal State Northridge is #2 at .455 ... Both teams are tied for second place in the Big West Conference at 4-3 ... CSUN is 7-13 overall while UCSB is 11-7 ... The CSUN coaching staff will be taking on a different clothing look on Saturday ... During Coaches vs Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend (Jan. 28-30), basketball coaches nationwide will wear sneakers with their suits to demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and its vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Freshman Focus
*** Several freshmen are starting to get a chance to get sizable minutes on the court ... Josh Greene (6-0, 175, Freshman, Guard, Lakeview Terrace, Ca) has averaged 19 minutes per game in his last seven games ... Greene has responded by averaging 8.7 ppg and shooting .463 (19-for-41) from the floor during that span ... Greene scored 17 points against UCR (1/13/11) and scored 14 points against Cal Poly (1/22/11) ... Jordan Mitchell (6-8, 185, Freshman, Forward, Gardena, Ca) has started the last four games ... Mitchell collected a season-high four rebounds in his first collegiate start against CSF (1/15/11) and followed up with a season-high three blocks against Seattle (1/19/11) ... Aqeel Quinn (6-4, 190, Freshman, Guard, Lawndale, Ca) has averaged 8.0 ppg in his last four games ... During that span, Quinn has hit 9-of-13 shots, 4-for-5 from behind the arc, is 10-for-11 from the charity line, dished out seven assists and grabbed eight rebounds ... Frankie Eteuati (6-10, 185, Freshman, Center, Los Angeles, Ca) has blocked five shots in the last three games.

Conference Chatter
*** Lenny Daniel (6-8, 205, Senior, Forward, Richmond, Va) is #1 in the Big West field goal percentage (.584, #6 for a single season in school history), third in rebounding (9.3 rpg), and fourth in scoring (16.3 ppg) and blocks (22, 1.10 bpg) ... Daniel has grabbed ten or more rebounds in eleven games, including a career-high 15 boards at Air Force (12/2/109) ... Daniel is shooting .634 (109-for-172) from the floor in his last 16 games.
*** Lenny Daniel (6-8, 205, Senior, Forward, Richmond, Va) has ten double-doubles (points-rebounds) this year, second-best in the Big West Conference behind Sam Willard of Pacific with 13.
*** Dathan Lyles (5-11, 175, Senior, Guard, Lima, Oh) is #3 in assists (4.05 apg) ... In four games, Lyles has dished out seven or more assists, including a career-high nine against Vanguard (11/20/10) and against Cal State Fullerton (1/15/11).
*** Vinnie McGhee (5-10, 165, Junior, Guard, Oakland, Ca) is eighth in the BWC in three-pointers made (36, 1.80 pg).
*** Rashaun McLemore (6-5, 205, Senior, G/F, Richmond, Va) is eighth in the league in scoring (15.3 ppg).
*** Michael Lizarraga (6-7, 230, Senior, Forward, Dixon, Ca) is ninth in the BWC in blocked shots (11, 0.55 bpg).
*** Frankie Eteuati (6-10, 185, Freshman, Forward, Los Angeles, Ca) is fifth in the BWC in blocks (18) at 01.00 per game ... Eteuati blocked a season-high three blocks in games against DePaul (11/26/10), at Air Force (122/2/10) and at UC Irvine (1/27/11).
*** Cal State Northridge is ranked #2 in the Big West Conference in field goal percentage (.455).
*** Cal State Northridge is ranked #3 in the Big West Conference in scoring (71.1 ppg), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.315), blocked shots (3.50 bpg) and steals (6.85 spg).

Lenny's Ledger
*** Lenny Daniel (6-8, 205, Senior, Forward, Richmond, Va) has moved to the top of the scoring charts for Cal State Northridge ... After scoring only two points and shooting 0-for-12 from the floor in the first two games of the year, Daniel has caught fire on the offensive and defensive ends of the court ... In the last 16 games, Daniel has averaged 18.8 points (301 points) and 9.7 rebounds (155 rebounds) per game while shooting .634 (109-for-172) from the floor.
*** Daniel has now upped his season average from 1.0 ppg in the first two games to 16.3 ppg (#4 in the BWC).
*** Daniel is shooting .584 (118-for-202) from the floor, #1 in the Big West Conference.
*** Daniel is now third in the Big West Conference in rebounding at 9.3 per game.
*** Daniel has recorded eight double-doubles in his last 12 games ... Against Cal Lutheran (12/7/10), Daniel tied his career-high in points (31) and field goals (15-for-18) along with 13 rebounds and three blocks.
*** Daniel has recorded 18 double-doubles in two seasons at Cal State Northridge.
*** The superb performance by Daniel at the recent 76 Classic in Anaheim netted the senior forward Big West Player of the Week honors ... Daniel averaged 20.7 points (#2 in the tournament) and led all rebounders (10.3 rpg) during the three-game tournament that featured a high quality field of eight teams, five of whom competed in NCAA or NIT post-season competition last year ... In helping Cal State Northridge to an 86-66 victory over DePaul (11/26/10) of the Big East Conference, Daniel scored a career-high 31 points (11-for-15 from the floor) along with a game-high ten rebounds ... The 31 points scored by Daniel against DePaul were the most points scored by any player in the 76 Classic, and the third-best scoring effort in the four-year history of the tournament ... The 31-point, ten-rebound performance against DePaul also gave Cal State Northridge its first victory over a Big East school in the 53-year history of Matador history ... In the first game of the 76 Classic, Daniel collected 13 rebounds against Virginia Tech (11/25/10), the most by any player in the 76 Classic ... In the final game of the 76 Classic on Sunday, Daniel scored 24 points (9-for-12 from the floor) along with eight rebounds and two blocks against Tulsa ... Daniel was outstanding from the field at the 76 Classic, hitting 23-of-36 shots for .639.
*** Daniel has blocked 22 shots (#4 in the BWC, 1.11 bpg) this year to give him 66 for his career, fourth-best in school history.

Schedule Saga
*** Challenging is always the trademark of the CSUN basketball schedule, and this year is no exception.
*** CSUN started the year with two games against Pac-10 schools at UCLA (L, 53-80, 11/12/10) and at California (L, 63-80, 11/16/10).
*** In Bobby Braswell's previous 14 years as head coach at CSUN, the Matadors have scheduled at least one Pac-10 school in 13 of those years ... The Pac-10 opponents have included Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, UCLA, Washington and Washington State.
*** CSUN competed against national notables Virginia Tech (L, 56-72, 11/25/10), DePaul (W, 88-66, 11/26/10) and Tulsa (L, 63-80, 11/28/10) in the 76 Classic (11/25 to 11/28/10) at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Television Tale
*** Five Cal State Northridge men's basketball games will appear on ESPN's family of networks and Fox Sports Net.
*** CSUN's game at Denver (12/4/10) was televised on Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain.
*** CSUN's three games (Virginia Tech, DePaul, Tulsa) at the 76 Classic (Nov. 25-28) were televised live on ESPNU.
*** One Big West Conference game has been televised on Fox Sports Net (Prime) ... That game was CSUN's home contest against Cal Poly on Saturday, January 22.

Gaucho Gossip
*** UC Santa Barbara, the pre-season favorite in the Big West Conference, is 11-7 overall and tied with Cal State Northridge for second place in the Big West Conference at 4-3 ... The Gauchos are 6-1 at The Thunderdome.
*** Orlando Johnson (6-5, 205, Junior, Guard, Seaside, Ca) and James Nunnally (6-7, 205, Junior, Guard, Stockton, Ca) are 1-2 in scoring in the Big West Conference ... Johnson is averaging 19.6 ppg while Nunnally is averaging 17.9 ppg ... Johnson and Nunnally have combined to hit 72 three-pointers ... Johnson leads the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg) while Nunnally is shooting .874 from the free throw line ... Greg Somogyi (7-3, 242, Junior, Budapest, Hungary) is the conference leader in blocks (34, 1.89 bpg).
*** UCSB is #1 in the Big West Conference in field goal percentage (.460), 3-point field goal percentage (.367), free throw percentage (.764), blocked shots (4.00 bpg) and steals (7.89 spg).

Series Story
*** UC Santa Barbara leads the series with Cal State Northridge, 28-13 ... The Matadors had won four straight games against the Gauchos until their last meeting (2/24/10) which resulted in a 74-69 UCSB win in Santa Barbara.

Close Calls
*** Over the last two seasons, CSUN has played in ten games (2-8) decided by three points or less ... CSUN has played in five one-point games (0-5) during that span.
*** Go figure ... CSUN lost to Air Force (63-72, 12/2/10)) despite the fact they scored more baskets (23-to-21) and outrebounded the Falcons (49-to-30), lost to Denver (63-66, 12/4/10) despite the fact CSUN scored more baskets (18-to-15) and outrebounded Denver (31-to-22), and lost at Seattle (1/8/11) despite holding the Redhawks to only 37 percent shooting, 21 percent from behind the arc, and forcing Seattle into 20 turnovers ... In a rematch game against Seattle (1/19/11), the Matadors held the Redhawks to .349 shooting and .133 from behind the arc but lost 75-68.

Final Facts
*** For the first time in the 53-year history of Cal State Northridge basketball, the Matadors scored a win over a Big East school when they scored a 88-66 win over DePaul (11/26/10).
*** Lenny Daniel, Dathan Lyles & Rashaun McLemore are serving as team captains this year.
*** With nine new players, including seven freshmen, on the 15-man CSUN roster in 2010-11, this is the youngest team head coach Bobby Braswell will coach as he is in the midst of his 15th season as head coach at Cal State Northridge ... CSUN only has nine years of NCAA season experience, three of those seasons by senior Michael Lizarraga ... Only UC Riverside (7 years) have a younger Big West Conference team than Cal State Northridge.
*** Cal State Northridge has employed nine different starting lineups in 19 games this year.
*** The Matadors, thus far, feature one of the top 1-2 scoring combinations in the Big West Conference ... Lenny Daniel (6-8, 205, Senior, Forward, Richmond, Va) is averaging 16.3 ppg (#4 in the BWC) while Rashaun McLemore (6-5, 2-5. Senior, G/F, Richmond, Va) checks in at 15.3 ppg (#8 in the league) ... The combined scoring total of 31.6 ppg by Daniel and McLemore is the highest 1-2 Cal State Northridge scoring combination since the 2000-01 season when Brian Heinle averaged 20.2 ppg and John Burrell checked in at 14.6 ppg.
*** Four of CSUN's seven wins have been by 22 points or more.